Page 64 of Try Easy

Lou slid Keoni’s shirt off his shoulders and took a step back so that she could look at him. As her eyes dropped down Keoni’s chest, her throat tightened, making it hard to breathe. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen him without his shirt. But it was the first time that she could touch him, and even taste him if she wanted. The thought of running her tongue along the lines and ridges of his perfectly carved chest made her mouth water.

She bent her head and kissed the sprinkling of hair at the top of his chest. His skin was sandy and tasted of salt and the ocean. The hair on his chest was softer than she’d expected. It tickled her chin. She kissed a line down the center of his chest, where the faint hairs grew thicker.

Keoni put his hand on the back of her neck and threaded his fingers through her hair. He leaned back against the window and sighed.

“I’ve wanted to feel your mouth on me since the moment I saw you,” he said.

Lou was thrilled to hear his words. She traced her tongue along the grooves of his stomach and licked the raised skin of a scar along his side.

“What happened here?” she asked, brushing the scar with her fingers.

It was long and jagged and shaped like a half-moon.

Keoni sucked in a sharp breath. “I don’t remember,” he said in a tight voice. “I have lots of scars. I don’t remember them all.”

Lou didn’t believe him, but she didn’t push the subject. This wasn’t a night to quiz each other or lay their scars open. This was one night in a lifetime. They wouldn’t waste it.

Taking Lou by the shoulders, Keoni pulled her up to her full height. He bent down and kissed the corner of her mouth, then the other before he spun her around so that her back was to his front. She gasped at the quickness of his movement, and it made her remember how strong he was. He was big and powerful. He towered over her, and could rest his chin on the top of her head.

Sweeping her hair off her neck, Keoni kissed the hollow behind her ear, then moved his lips along her shoulder. The soft hairs of his beard brushed against Lou’s skin and she arched against him.

Keoni worked his hand between their bodies and found the zipper of Lou’s dress. He gave it a little tug, then lowered it all the way to her waist. She felt a rush of cool air on her back as he spread open her dress, then Keoni’s warm lips kissed along her spine.

“You’ve been killing me all week in this bikini,” he said, untying the strings of her bathing suit with a decisive tug.

He swept the straps aside, then his lowered his hands to the ties around the middle of her back. He eased them down and slid his hands around her waist.

“I could barely look at you without thinking about touching you.”

Lou leaned against him. “You can touch me now,” she said, trying not to sound like she was begging.

Keoni pushed her dress down her hips so that she was only wearing the bikini bottom. He ran his hands up Lou’s rib cage and stopped when he grazed the undersides of her breasts. She leaned back against him and took his hands in hers, guiding them to cup her breasts.

She heard the catch of his breath as he filled his hands with her breasts. He held them reverently, and bent to whisper in her ear, “You’re perfect, Mary Lou Hunter. Absolutely perfect. You feel even better than you look,” he said.

His voice was gruff with passion and a trace of sadness. Hearing it made Lou want to cry. Then Keoni flicked his calloused thumb over her nipple, and she forgot to be sad. He kissed her neck and her shoulder, caressing her breasts as if he already knew what she liked. Lou arched against him, so aroused by just his rough hands on her breasts that she thought she might climax without even touching him.

Suddenly, she couldn’t stand the thought of not seeing him. She wanted to see his face and kiss his lips. She wanted to touch him.

Turning in his arms, she stretched onto her tiptoes and linked her arms around Keoni’s neck. She kissed him, letting her tongue trace the groove in his lower lip before delving between his lips. He groaned and reached down to cup her ass, pulling her against his body. She felt the swell of his arousal twitch against her belly.

“I want to go slowly with you,” he said. “I want to take my time with you.”

“But we don’t have time,” Lou said, embarrassed by the petulant sound of her voice. She cleared her throat. “You don’t have to go slowly,” she said. “We can try that next time.”

Keoni’s scarred eyebrow lifted. “There’s going to be a next time?”

“I hope so. If this is our only night together, I’m not planning on spending it sleeping.”

Keoni smiled and scooped his hands under Lou. He lifted her against his chest, and Lou wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to the bed and lay her down on the colorful quilt, then reached over to switch on the bedside lamp.

“I want to see you,” he said.

Lou blinked, her eyes slowly adjusting to the light in the room. Keoni stood between her legs, staring down at her. His gaze was hot and appreciative as he devoured her with his eyes. Lou was too turned on to feel self-conscious. She was glad Keoni had turned on the light, because now she could see him as well.

She wanted to memorize every exquisite detail of him to recall later when they weren’t together. Her eyes traveled slowly over him, appreciating every curve and line of his body. The surf shorts hung low off his lean hips, revealing the deep V of his hip bones and the line of hair that thickened beneath his navel. Her eyes traveled up over the muscular wall of his chest to his face. His body was glorious, even with the scars and bruises, but his face was even better. Dark eyes, proud nose, full lips, and smooth skin tanned to a glowing bronze—he was like a sculpture of a god.

Keoni smiled his crooked smile, one side of his mouth lifting higher than the other. The dimple in his cheek flashed. Lou felt his smile all the way to her toes.

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